Gibson vs. Epiphone is a ridiculous argument. Two completely different price brackets. If you are looking to buy an efficient and dependable vehicle, do you think you'll find yourself wandering around in the Ferrari dealership parking lot? Absolutely not. Epiphone Les Paul's are what they are. You get the beautiful Les Paul frame with some hardware that gives you some room to experiment with and upgrade. If you are going to buy a Gibson Les Paul, than you are in the market to make an investment in a high quality instrument. And those of you who talk about Gibson quality control need to understand that if you are going to spend over 2 grand on a guitar, than you better make sure it is setup and ready to go before you leave the shop. I mean, are you guys really dropping that kind of money on a guitar that you get in the mail?? I have owned several Gibson Les Pauls and have loved every one of them. With that said, whatever I found wrong with it AT THE SHOP I had fixed. Setup, fret dressing, whatever. This has always been offered to me at no extra cost. I mean, you are dropping quite a bit of cash on a guitar. Would you buy a brand new car that doesn't run properly?
With that said, I love my Epiphone Les Paul. Granted it has been wholly upgraded and is not the same guitar I bought. They are absolutely playable out of the box and a tremendous value for the price. I personally love what Epiphone is doing with their new line of amps and guitars.